This Week I Learned...Lock it in!

I was walking down a wooded trail, one of those places where wisdom naturally arises, and I realized why I become overwhelmed. It's because I don't "lock it in." What do I mean? Well, when there are a million things for me to do or learn, I start thinking of each of those things as a source of irritation. I imagine the difficulty of doing that one thing, but fail to imagine that having done it, that's one thing off my list.

I get anxious when I think that a project has no end, which is exactly what I fool myself into believing when I forget that something learned or completed puts me one step closer to my desired outcome. If I remember that once I've learned something or completed something, I can lock it in, I get to relax and rejoice at each small success. That part is done. I don't have to do it again. I can move to the next step knowing that what I've done is done. I've locked it in. It won't slip away. It can never be undone. I'm closer to success than I was.

Action step: Break your projects into bite-sized chunks and create an order of execution. Then do each step without concern for the next. Once you've completed a step, lock it in. Tell yourself that you're done with that part, that it will stay done, and that you can now move on to the next step with greater confidence.